Forgive or Forget

Chapter 12

-Reed-

After eating, I cleaned the grill before returning to our guests. Todd joins me. I'm glad because I need to question him about this Patty girl.

"What the hell is up with this Patty chick?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" Todd replies with a question of his own.

"I've never seen you take a girl like her to any get-together. What the hell is going on with you?" I demand.

"Nothing, man. She's hot, and I asked her to join me tonight, the end," Todd responds.

I'm not buying it. "If you think Patty's so hot, why the hell have you been paying more attention to Cheryl than you have to her?"

Todd laughs. "I don't know what you are fucking talking about."

I lower my voice. "Listen, I know you're not thrilled with my relationship with Cheryl. You brought Patty to temp me, but it won't work. When I look at Cheryl, I wonder how I was even attracted to girls like Patty. Cheryl's my everything, and no matter how much you try to push other women on me, it will not happen. So knock it the fuck off!"

I see the heat of anger in Todd's eyes. "Don't flatter yourself. Patty's my date, and I'm not guilty of your accusations. So get off of your high fucking horse. We both know that eventually, you'll get bored of Cheryl like you have all of the others, and I'll be there to clean up your little mess."

"Fuck you, Todd. I don't know how often I must tell you that Cheryl is different. She's my one and only, and I'll spend the rest of my life showing her just how spectacular she is. You keep your eyes and hands off of her!" I say in anger.

I turn back to the table and see Cheryl's eyes meet mine. She looks concerned, but I give my girl a huge smile, and she gives me one back.

***

It's been a month, and Todd and I haven't spoken since the barbecue night. I question whether or not to keep him as my best man when Cheryl and I get married next month. The problem is, I have no one else. Cheryl told me that Tank would stand up for me, but I have only known him for over a month.

I decided to keep Todd as my best man, even though since Cheryl and I officially got together, he's been a complete ass. I know that he misses our time together and blames it on Cheryl. We had been inseparable since meeting in grade school. I guess that I should be the one to reach out to him.

I pick up my phone and text him.

Hey.

I get back to work. Todd doesn't always hear his phone while working on a noisy job site.

Forty-five minutes later, I got a response.

What's up?

I type out my reply.

I wanted to know if you wanted to meet for drinks at the Irish Bar after work. Maybe grab some dinner?

Todd answers.

Sure, I should be there by 5:30.

I shoot him a text back.

Sounds good. See you then.

I put my phone down and get back to my paperwork.

I got to the bar a little early and found two empty seats.

After sitting down, Red brought me over my beer and whiskey chaser. "You eating?"

I nod. "Yes, but not till my friend gets here. Can I have an extra beer to save his seat? He should be here any minute."